More than 100,000 jobs are currently empty in the social care sector, according to a new report.
The report by Skills for Care estimates that on any given day there are 112,000 vacancies in the sector.
Using data provided by employers to the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) the report concludes that there are around 18,200 organisations working across 38,000 locations, with a workforce of around 1.52m, compared to around 1.4m NHS workers.
It adds the adult social care sector contributes £41.2bn per annum to the economy in England, which is worth more than the oil industry and the culture sector.
And it estimates around 84% of the adult social care workforce are British, 7% have an EU nationality and 9% (134,000 jobs) have a non-EU nationality.
‘Any reduction in the number of vacancies is welcome, but we need to attract more new recruits who have the right values to fill posts that offer long term careers where you can make a difference in people’s lives every single day,’ said Skills for Care chief executive, Oonagh Smyth.
‘Once people have discovered the personal satisfaction on offer in social care, we need to keep them by investing in pay, their professional development and creating clear career pathways. We cannot miss this opportunity so we must continue to invest in our frontline staff and dedicated leaders and managers who have made such a difference in keeping people safe and well during the pandemic.’
The Skills for Care report follow’s the Care Quality Commission’ annual review of the state of health and social care in England, which called for a new deal for the care workforce.
The CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care, Kate Terroni added: ‘We welcome Skills for Care’s report. For years, we’ve been calling for a better funding settlement for adult social care. Last year, we warned that the continuing lack of a long-term sustainable solution for adult social care was having a damaging impact on the quality and quantity of available care.
‘Our latest State of Care report makes clear that these issues need to be urgently addressed and also calls for a new deal for the care workforce, which develops clear career progression, secures the right skills for the sector, better recognises and values staff, invests in their training and supports appropriate professionalisation.
‘We’re committed to ensuring safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care and are working with the Department of Health and Social Care and others to support the care system through winter.’
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